Emily's Bridge: A Vermont Haunting

Emily's Bridge
Photo by Mfwills

Emily's Bridge is a covered bridge on the imaginatively named Covered Bridge Rd. in Stowe, Vermont. The bridge's real name is Gold Brook Bridge after the brook it spans. New England has many covered bridges, but Gold Brook Bridge is special because many believe it is haunted by the ghost of a girl named Emily.

Legend

There are a few stories about Emily and how she came to haunt a small covered bridge in Stowe. The first is that the girl planned to meet her lover on the bridge and elope with him, but he never arrived. She subsequently hanged herself on the bridge. A twist on the same tale says her boyfriend hanged himself at the bridge so she followed suit. Another version of the story has Emily jilted at the altar. She realizes what is happening and takes off in a horse and carriage. She and the horses careen off the road and meet their demise beneath the bridge. Yet another version has her dying in a car crash on the way to the wedding. 

In every story, Emily is a young girl in love. She seems to have died in the 1920s, but that isn't entirely clear, given the horse and carriage in some of the stories. Most families still would have traveled that way then, but it doesn't narrow the time period down much. Then there is the fact that some stories have her dying in an automobile. The bridge, now a registered historic place, was built in 1844, so it could not have been earlier than that.

Origins

Most sources trace the earliest accounts of Emily's death to a school paper written in 1968 or thereabouts. A girl named Susan claimed to have used a Ouija board to talk to Emily, who said she was murdered on the bridge. Interestingly, the murder aspect faded away in favor of a dark love story. Apparently, Susan's story existed in local lore before her paper. Even she said she didn't believe it. Another possible source is a woman named Nancy Stead, who says she started the whole thing in the early 70s in an attempt to scare local kids.

Sightings

Several people have claimed to have paranormal experiences on Emily's Bridge, mostly between the hours of 12 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.. Incidents include scratches appearing on cars parked there, the sound of a girl screaming and the sound of someone walking on the bridge when no one is in sight. Some witnesses even say they hear dragging on the tops of their cars. Could it be the sound of ghostly feet swinging from the bridge's rafters?

Complaints

Emily's Bridge has become a popular hangout for local drinkers, according to people who live in the neighborhood. The police get plenty of complaints about loud revelers. However, they mostly only catch tourists peacefully checking out the bridge, hoping for a ghoulish sight. Either way, visitors should be very respectful of the fact that people live within earshot of the bridge. If you want to ghost hunt, do it quietly.

Reality

Unfortunately for anyone who wants to spot a ghost on a covered bridge, Emily's Bridge is likely not haunted at all. There are no official records of a girl dying on, under or around the bridge. There aren't even death records of a girl named Emily that would match up in any way. Some say there is a gravestone marked "Emily" in the Stowe Cemetery, but I couldn't even find a place called Stowe Cemetery. There are a few very small graveyards in town. None of them are documented well on findagrave.com, so I couldn't find much. Please feel free to comment below with any information you have on that front.